If you had to choose between being safe or being free, which would you pick?

That may be a little extreme, but it certainly paints a picture of many of the decisions we’re facing today. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there are an ever increasing number of foreign and domestic threats. Governments and law enforcement are looking to protect us, but we often feel their techniques and strategies infringe on our freedoms and limit our privacy.

Fueling this environment are the new devices we use everyday. Because of their constant Internet connectivity and many features, law enforcement is looking to use the data they collect to crack down on criminal behavior. This article isn’t meant to be a big brother prophesy, or point an accusing finger at any organization, but rather to inform people of the dual effects of modern technology. The following are just a few popular tech trends that could be used to impose on our freedoms.

Even Twitter recently announced data licensing as a core piece of their business model. In this era of big data, Twitter is hoping to profit from its users by selling access to their tweets. Also, one step further, geo-targeting is becoming increasingly popular. Advertisers can use the location services on your phone to send you promotions specific to where you are at that moment. If advertisers can do it, what is stopping the feds from doing the same?

Recently Samsung came under fire for its interactive voice command features. Essentially, like speaking with Google NowGoogle Now Knows Where You Parked, Gets Offline Cards, And MoreGoogle Now Knows Where You Parked, Gets Offline Cards, And MoreThe Android Google Search app has been updated, and tucked inside it are some pretty awesome tweaks to Google Now that add quite a bit of usefulness to Google's personal assistant.Read More or Siri, users can speak and interact with their TV. Samsung stores searches in a database, using the information to make modifications and future improvements. The problem is that normal conversations could be mistaken for searches, which would then be recorded and stored. This concern isn’t exclusive to Samsung. Any of the new IoT devices could accidently record our information, and we are never quite sure who is on the other end to receive it.

Biometrics, meaning using metrics to measure human characteristics, has become a common form of identification and security. Fingerprint scanners, iris readers and face recognition software are becoming more and more common in the devices we use everyday. Even social media is adopting this technology. Facebook is working on a program called DeepFaceHow Will AI Impact Your Life in the Next Ten Years?How Will AI Impact Your Life in the Next Ten Years?Artificial intelligence is growing quickly, and seems braced to change the world. How will that change present itself in the next few years? Here are some good guesses.Read More, which is able to create 3D models of your face, and then use that information to recognize when you appear in pictures. While it might improve security measures, it’s concerning to think companies could have access to information that identifies you as a person. That same technology could be used in security cameras to recognize where you are at all times, like a real-world version of Minority Report.

This convergence of the era of big data analytics and increased national security concerns raises questions of future privacy initiatives. Right now, we are developing tools meant to improve our lives and make things a little easier. However, companies and governments also realize these devices are powerful data collection tools. No one wants to be a victim, but at the same time, having people unknowingly monitor our every move isn’t a welcome thought either.

Where do you stand on the technology vs. privacy debate? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Rick Delgado is a business technology consultant with a passion for new and emerging tech. He is also a frequent contributor to sites like Wired, Tech.co, and Cloud Tweaks who enjoys writing about the intersection of business and new innovative technologies.